Vacations Are Good

We all entered the field of education for various reasons. For some it was the desire to mold and nurture children. For others it was the opportunity to share our love for a particular subject area. However, I must admit that one of the reasons I became an educator was the vacation time There, I said it and I'm glad.

I just returned from an 8 day cruise in the Southern Carribean and I loved every minute of it. Warm sunny days, visits to very colorful friendly islands and a never ending supply of food. Whats not to love? More importantly this trip gave me an opportunity to recharge my educational batteries for the final Spring push - exams, graduation, prom, awards assembly, staff hiring, Spring concert and student schedules. This will translate into numerous 16 hour days and 6 day work weeks.

When I decided to enter the field of education I knew that I wasn't going to be rich although I can finally say that after 30 years I do earn a nice salary and benefits package. The trade-off for me was the extensive vacation time. At the beginning of my career, I like many other educators held several part-time jobs in order to pay the bills so vacations were few and far between. I was also taking Graduate level college courses at nights and during the Summer to advance my career. Now that I'm in a better place financially, I look forward to being able to travel and relax whenever possible.

To our detractors who think Principal and other educators should work longer days with less vacation time I say "try walking a week in our shoes!" See what its like to be responsible for 1000+ students and the supervision of several hundred adults. Not to mention that at any moment 25 parents can be on the telephone requesting your undivided attention. In the corporate world, anyone with this level of responsibility would be making a salary that is twice what we make. So since you don't want to pay us more, then don't complain about our vacation time. In the meantime I will be planning for my next trip which will be to Alaska this summer!